BackgroundThe median age of single homeless adults is approximately 50 years. Older homeless adults have poor social support and experience a high prevalence of chronic disease, depression, and substance use disorders. Access to mobile phones and the internet could help lower the barriers to social support, social services, and medical care; however, little is known about access to and use of these by older homeless adults.ObjectiveThis study aimed to describe the access to and use of mobile phones, computers, and internet among a cohort of 350 homeless adults over the age of 50 years.MethodsWe recruited 350 participants who were homeless and older than 50 years in Oakland, California. We interviewed participants at 6-month intervals about their health status, residential history, social support, substance use, depressive symptomology, and activities of daily living (ADLs) using validated tools. We performed clinical assessments of cognitive function. During the 6-month follow-up interview, study staff administered questions about internet and mobile technology use. We assessed participants’ comfort with and use of multiple functions associated with these technologies.ResultsOf the 343 participants alive at the 6-month follow-up, 87.5% (300/343) completed the mobile phone and internet questionnaire. The median age of participants was 57.5 years (interquartile range 54-61). Of these, 74.7% (224/300) were male, and 81.0% (243/300) were black. Approximately one-fourth (24.3%, 73/300) of the participants had cognitive impairment and slightly over one-third (33.6%, 100/300) had impairments in executive function. Most (72.3%, 217/300) participants currently owned or had access to a mobile phone. Of those, most had feature phones, rather than smartphones (89, 32.1%), and did not hold annual contracts (261, 94.2%). Just over half (164, 55%) had ever accessed the internet. Participants used phones and internet to communicate with medical personnel (179, 64.6%), search for housing and employment (85, 30.7%), and to contact their families (228, 82.3%). Those who regained housing were significantly more likely to have mobile phone access (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] 3.81, 95% CI 1.77-8.21). Those with ADL (AOR 0.53, 95% CI 0.31-0.92) and executive function impairment (AOR 0.49; 95% CI 0.28-0.86) were significantly less likely to have mobile phones. Moderate to high risk amphetamine use was associated with reduced access to mobile phones (AOR 0.27, 95% CI 0.10-0.72).ConclusionsOlder homeless adults could benefit from portable internet and phone access. However, participants had a lower prevalence of smartphone and internet access than adults aged over 65 years in the general public or low-income adults. Participants faced barriers to mobile phone and internet use, including financial barriers and functional and cognitive impairments. Expanding access to these basic technologies could result in improved outcomes.
Background: The median age of single homeless adults is approximately 50. Older homeless adults have poor social support and experience a high prevalence of chronic disease, depression and substance use disorders. Access to mobile phones and the Internet could help lower barriers to social support, social services and medical care, yet little is known about access to and use of these by older homeless adults. Objective: We describe access to and use of mobile phones, computers, and the Internet among a cohort of 350 homeless adults over age 50. Methods: We recruited 350 participants who were homeless and >50 in Oakland, CA. We interviewed participants at 6-month intervals about health status, residential history, social support, substance use, depressive symptomology and activities of daily living (ADLs) using validated tools. We performed clinical assessments of cognitive function. During the 6-month follow-up interview, study staff administered questions about Internet and mobile technology use. We assessed participants' comfort with and use of multiple functions associated with these technologies. Results: Of the 343 participants alive at the 6-month follow-up, 300 (87.5%) completed the mobile phone and Internet questionnaire. The median age of participants was 57.5 (IQR 54-61). Two-hundred and twenty four (74.7%) were male and 243 (81.0%) were Black. Approximately one-quarter (73; 24.3%) of participants had cognitive impairment. Most (217; 72.3%) participants currently owned or had access to a mobile phone. Of those, most had basic, rather than smartphones (89; 32.1%) and did not hold annual contracts (261; 94.2%). Just over half (164; 55%) had ever accessed the Internet. Participants used phones and the Internet to communicate with medical personnel (179; 64.6%), search for housing and employment 85 (85; 30.7%), and to contact family (228; 82.3%). Those with mobile phone access at the time of the interview were significantly more likely to have regained housing (P < .001) and significantly less likely to be cognitively impaired (P-value = .04). Conclusions: Older homeless adults could benefit from portable Internet and phone access, yet participants had a lower prevalence of smartphone and Internet access than adults over 65 in the general public or low-income adults. Participants faced barriers to mobile phone and Internet use, including financial barriers and functional and cognitive impairments. Expanding access to these basic technologies could result in improved outcomes.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.